This Flash-based interactive provides access to illustrations, visualizations, videos, and near-real time images of the Sun from a variety of NASA satellites. Learners can access this information to supplement other materials related to the Sun and...(View More) heliophysics. A scale tool with the size of the Earth is also presented with the solar images.(View Less)

Students analyze and interpret the accompanying large-format images of Mars taken by NASA’s Mars Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera. The analysis involves identifying geologic features, calibrating the size of those features, and...(View More) determining surface history. The lesson culminates in students conducting in-depth research on questions generated during their analyses. The lesson is part of the Mars Education Program series; it models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes and vocabulary. Next Generation Science Standards are listed.(View Less)

Students use the research topic questions generated in the earlier lesson entitled, “Mars Image Analysis,” to refine testable questions and develop hypotheses. The lesson is part of the Mars Education Program series; it models scientific inquiry...(View More) using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes and vocabulary. Next Generation Science Standards are listed.(View Less)

This is an activity about image resolution. Learners will recreate a solar image taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) using various sizes of building bricks, and discuss how their recreations relate to image resolution. Learners will also...(View More) compare SDO images to solar images from older spacecraft to see how improved technology helps scientists learn more about the Sun.(View Less)

This is a collection of mathematics problems relating to the moons of the solar system. Learners will use simple proportional relationships and work with fractions to study the relative sizes of the larger moons in our solar system, and explore how...(View More) temperatures change from place to place using the Celsius and Kelvin scales.(View Less)

This program uses NASA data and resources to promote authentic classroom research experiences. These two complementary guides lead students through the process of conducting their own inquiry-based research on an Earth-focused topic. In their...(View More) guidebook, students read content and answer questions about each step in the research process- from formulating a question to sharing results. The separate guide for teachers provides explicit instructions, lists the standards addressed, and includes additional hints, resources and websites.(View Less)

Students are introduced to planetary rocks, soils, and surfaces using images of the lunar samples collected by Apollo astronauts. Examining those images and participating in related activities will lead students to a deeper understanding of the...(View More) Moon, Earth and our Solar System. The 27-page student guide contains background information, images, instructions, questions and activities. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and also includes a teacher’s guide, an alignment to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and connections to Common Core English Language standards.(View Less)

This is an activity about image comparison. Learners will analyze and compare images taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. They will match four magnetic solar images, or magnetograms, to their corresponding extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, light...(View More) images by studying solar features in the images. At the end, they will recognize that areas of high magnetic activity on the Sun correspond to extreme solar activity.(View Less)

This is an activity that compares the magnetic field of the Earth to the complex magnetic field of the Sun. Using images of the Earth and Sun that have magnets attached in appropriate orientations, learners will use a handheld magnetic field...(View More) detector to observe the magnetic field of the Earth and compare it to that of the Sun, especially in sunspot areas. For each group of students, this activity requires use of a handheld magnetic field detector, such as a Magnaprobe or a similar device, a bar magnet, and ten small disc magnets.(View Less)